John Wall says "Kentucky will always be home" while still supporting John Calipari

John Wall opened the new episode of his podcast, “Point Game,” with his thoughts on John Calipari leaving Kentucky for a fresh start in Fayetteville. Wall, who said he spoke to Calipari on Tuesday, admitted he “wasn’t too shocked” by the Calipari-Kentucky separation after seeing the reaction to another first-round exit for the Wildcats. Moving forward, the former UK point guard sensation will keep his full support behind Kentucky while continuing to back Calipari at Calipari’s new workplace, he said.

“It’s sad to see him leave,” Wall told his co-host, C.J. Toledano. “I’m still part of Kentucky. I’m still going to be Big Blue Nation. They gave me the opportunity to play on the highest level you can in college basketball in D-1, one of the biggest schools ever, and then get an opportunity to go to the NBA. That’s always family. I have the jersey tatted on me. I’m in the Hall of Fame. It’s always love and support for Kentucky, and that’s never going to change.

“But I’m always going to support Cal too, no matter what school he’s at. I think, like he said, it was time. It’s sad to see a breakup like that happen, but I think it was time.”

Calipari finding his happy place

After speaking to Calipari and watching his farewell video, Wall believes his old coach is regaining some excitement with a reset on his coaching career. Wall thought after Calipari lost a lot of support over the last four years of results, including the NCAA Tournament exits and unexpected in-season upsets, he wanted to be wanted again. In Lexington, Calipari no longer felt the full support he once did.

“At Kentucky, it’s a lot of pressure,” Wall explained. “They want to hang banners. They don’t care about what the regular season record is; they want to go far in the tournament. The last couple years haven’t been that for him, and I think that kind of started to get to the fans.”

Now with Arkansas, Calipari feels the love from his new fan base, and it’s brought him back to life.

“You can see it and hear it in his voice,” said Wall. “Like, he had a lot more joy. He’s getting that excitement back now and he’s getting to start fresh. Sometimes you need a new fresh start, even though you might want to be with that person and stay with that person. I think he needed a fresh start and he’s doing what’s best for him and his family. I just feel like it’s gonna be a lot of pressure to whoever gets the next job at Kentucky to kind of live up to what he did.”

Whoever follows Calipari, Wall expects a good hire by athletic director Mitch Barnhart.

“I think the AD, Mitch Barnhart, is gonna do a great job of just trying to find somebody new, find somebody else to come in and keep the legacy going and build what he can. “But Arkansas got a great one in Coach Cal and I think they’re super, super excited.”

Wall wants a relationship with the new coach

When the new hire is made, John Wall hopes he will still be welcomed around the building as a former player. John Calipari will forever be his guy, but Wall can build a relationship with Kentucky’s next head coach, too. He hopes that is the case as he continues to support the Cats.

“I just hope they get a great coach,” Wall said. “That’s the university I went to. I want them to continue to be good and I want to continue to support them. I want to continue to be able to go to games. Whoever the new coach is, I want to be able to build a relationship with him, so I have the opportunity to come back and still use the facility when I work out, come around and be around the team, and go to practices and go to games in support.

“I’m always gonna continue to do that because that place is like home to me. Even though Coach Cal has separated, that’s still the place I call home. That’s where I went to college. That’s why I left high school and learned how to be a man on another level to prepare me for the NBA. So, whoever they get, I hope it’s great. I hope I can build a relationship with them and I hope it’s a guy that can get them to where they want to get to and win more championships.”

Listen to John Wall talk Kentucky and Calipari on “Point Game”